A New Generation Called to Feed the World
Matt Nicol Sponsor Relations Account Executive
Nationwide
614-359-7342
[email protected]
With 9 billion people to feed by 2050, filling
professional agriculture jobs will be critical to
achieving food and nutrition security in the
21 st century.
A report released Oct. 16 at the World Food
Prize Borlaug Dialogue by the STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Food &
Ag Council, found that demand for new talent in
the food and agriculture industries is outpacing
the available candidates entering the workforce
from academic programs. Terrance Williams,
Nationwide Agribusiness president & COO, is a
member of the council.
“The food and agriculture industries are
projected to have a substantial need for new
business and science professionals in the coming
years,” said Kim Reynolds, Lt. Governor of Iowa
and chair of the STEM Food & Ag Council. “It is
critical our students be prepared for the jobs of the
twenty-first century.”
According to the figures in the report, the
agriculture industry is expected to grow by almost
5 percent over the next five years. The need to
transfer knowledge from the retiring generation to
their successors will also create additional demand
for the next generation of industry professionals.
“Meeting the increasing global demand for
food will require the next generation of scientists,
innovators and entrepreneurs,” said Paul Schickler,
DuPont Pioneer president and vice-chair of the
STEM Food & Ag Council. “Our industry faces the
stigma that we exist only in fields and processing
factories, but we are also accountants, economists,
scientists, investors, communicators, and everything
else needed to run an international industry.”
The research in the report identifies growing
opportunities for college graduates in six advanced
agriculture fields. Despite an increase of 30 percent
over the past eight years in enrollment in academic
programs that feed into these professions, there still
aren’t enough graduates to keep up with the demand
for qualified candidates.
To illustrate the success of recent graduates in
the agriculture industry, the report also highlights
five young professionals who are advancing in their
careers at major agribusinesses — including DuPont
Pioneer, Land O’Lakes, and Monsanto – after
completing university STEM programs.
“Agriculture is increasingly global and
information-based, which is as exciting at the
farm gate as it is in international agribusiness,”
said Andrew Lauver, the 24-year-old Frank Ross
International Emerging Leader at DuPont Pioneer.
“There are so many opportunities for people my age
to make a real impact and travel the world as a part
of the solution to global hunger and poverty.”
In the report, the STEM Food & Ag Council
recommends that the public and private sectors
partner to guide, educate and recruit the next
generation of college graduates toward the business
and science career opportunities that are growing
within the food and agriculture industries.
View full ag employment data in the 2014
STEM Food & Ag Council Report: http://www.
stemconnector.org/stem-food-ag-council-0
West Virginia Farm Bureau News 7